Assessing Intracranial Pressure Visualizations Displayed on ICU Bedside Physiologic Monitors

Abstract

Neurocritical care is considered a complex socio-technical environment where clinicians deal with large amounts of data and need to make timely decisions to provide optimal care for patients, improve outcomes, and reduce mortality. Intracranial pressure (ICP) is one of the key physiologic indicators clinicians track to minimize the risk of secondary brain injury. The understanding and teaching of pathophysiologic ICP trends is perceived as challenging to both novice and advanced clinicians. We propose new ICP visualizations with the goal of facilitating a better understanding of ICP concepts on bedside physiologic monitors to support complex decision-making. We have conducted interviews with clinicians to receive feedback on preliminary designs. Interviews revealed that the staff physician appreciated visualizations with more depth and with calculated parameters to describe the raw data. Contrarily, the trainees and nurses saw the most value in visualizations that were less abstract and easier to interpret.